Milk and the many dairy alternatives

August 10, 2017

As you might know from my previous posts, I have IBS. So unsurprisingly, dairy is one of my main enemies.

The weird thing about this is the fact I used to down a glass of milk each morning in order to maintain a happy gut. But something went wrong over the past few years and now it makes my stomach go to a bad place.

As I began to try and make changes to my diet in order to live a good life again, the first thing I had to try and cut out was the ol’ dairy and find an alternative.

SOY

Naturally the first thing I tried was soy milk – the big daddy of diary alternatives. It is pretty much the easiest and most available option in most places and isn’t too expensive!

I actually enjoy the smooth, almost creamy taste and most importantly, it doesn’t change the texture of pancakes when added to the mix lol.

However, there is a big question mark over soy bean because some are genetically modified and that could totally cause problems in the future that we aren’t aware of just yet.

You’re best bet is to always go for organic soy milk.

I personally keep things cheap and cheerful with my soy milk choice and the sweetened soy milk option from Tesco is my main bae – Soya milk (the one in the blue carton in the long life section).

Or if you can get your hands on Freedom foods’ extra milky soy like I did while living in Australia, then I strongly suggest you stock up in that.

RICE

After I got all scared of soy milk, I was introduced to rice milk by a friend who is dairy intolerant. On first taste I absolutely loved it. It’s light, sweet and just tastes like it is good for you. No bloating, no reaction, just good vibes.

However, once this was mixed in with my tea, pancakes, cereal etc, it was pretty clear that rice milk isn’t the one for me.

While it’s a nice non-diary drink option, I couldn’t really use this in place of milk for most of my favourite things.

I recommend Rice Dream if you want to give it a whirl.

COCONUT

Now another diary alternative which is great is coconut milk. But, I hate coconuts so I just tend to steer clear of this.

However, my mum used to add coconut milk to our tapioca and it was BOMB so maybe I’ll try and get over for coconut hang up and see how far my love for coconut milk can go.

While I haven’t used it much I’ve seen a lot of love for coconut milk when used for smoothies and baking so it’s worth a try if you can handle coconuts.

OAT

So Oat milk came to my life quite late in the game and I’m gutted I didn’t know about it sooner. Like rice milk, it is very light and has a very interesting taste but this is perfect for… OATS.

If you want your morning porridge to taste nice and creamy then you really ought to try oat milk. Simples.

I still think soy milk gives a creamier finish but Oat milk should definitely be given a chance.

I recommend trying either Oatly or the Alpro option.

HEMP

Sadly, hemp milk has a slightly bitter aftertaste that I just can’t handle. My tastebuds are super sensitive and once they notice something they don’t like it is literally amplified to a point where I just cannot deal.

But I hear this is great for cooking so again, worth a try if you aren’t a freak like me.

And then there was NUTS.

Sadly for me, nuts make me have an acne breakout all over my body. So as much as I love the nut milks, I can’t actually have them play a part in my day-to-day diet.

Side note: Anyone else get this problem? I really need to know I’m not the only one who gets this really annoying reaction!

ALMOND

Almond milk is my favourite nut milk and it breaks my heart that I can’t just use it as my milk substitute.

It’s cream and smooth with a great nutty taste and is a great consistency for cooking and baking too.

I recommend Blue Diamond Almond Breeze.

HAZELNUT

I also enjoy Hazelnut milk but I hear it’s not as good for cooking and baking. You might want to use this just to switch things up in your drinks, desserts or just day-to-day drinking.

Give Alpro’s option a try.

CASHEW

I’ve only tried cashew milk once because it is the nut that messes up my skin the most so I just couldn’t deal.

However, from the little I had, I could tell it is any lovely nut milk with a lovely creamy taste.

So what’s next?

From now on I will be using Soy as my main milk substitute, while I’ll use Oat milk to keep me happy when I chow down on porridge.

I still find it a bit too hard to avoid milk when I’m at work or eating out so I can never go completely tee-total. But I kinda think that is a good thing because it will help me gage how my body is reacting to it as time goes by.

Maybe things will change in the future and nut milks can be my friends? Maybe, just maybe, my body will learn to be happy with cow milk again?

Only time will tell.

Are you allergic to dairy? Got any suggestions for me? Know a way I can enjoy the nut milk without the spot outbreaks?